Press Release

DACA Vote Shows Both Sides Playing Politics

(Washington, D.C.) - Prior to concluding its legislative business before the August recess, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5230 and H.R. 5272. These measures address the challenge of thousands of children arriving at the U.S. border, and limit the president's authority to implement and expand the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program.

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative, released the following statement:

"It's important that Congress address the crisis of thousands of children arriving at the U.S. border, and the House has taken action. That's more than the Senate has done, and it's a first step. Sadly, the debate was coarsened by personal attacks and cheap-shot politics that should have no place in Washington. Hopefully both sides will stick to the substance of the issues.

"Immigration reform is long overdue. That said, we at the LIBRE Initiative have clearly and consistently called out the president for his unilateral actions and executive decisions to disregard the concerns of Congress - highlighting the unintended consequences that may result from such actions. However, the DACA program is a policy action that once unleashed cannot be undone without affecting hundreds of thousands of lives. In fact, 700,000 people came forward and qualified for deferred deportation - the same people who are now in danger of being cruelly and unjustly exposed - as LIBRE predicted at the time. While the president is considering an expansion of DACA, such a move would bring more unintended consequences. For all concerned, it would be far better to focus on working with Congress on a permanent fix.

The ugly truth is that both sides are guilty of playing politics with those caught in the middle. The majority of 'Dreamers' are like the generations of young immigrants who came before them - full of potential and talent - with parents who want nothing more than to improve their lot in life. We need real bipartisanship, and a permanent, sensible solution to our nation's broken immigration laws."